EU Police and Justice Cooperation – Does the UK Benefit from existing Regulation

To conclude her Fellowship Dr Hufagnel will be providing a public seminar on her research. The talk will then be followed by a drinks reception.

Dr Saskia Hufnagel (ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security, Griffith University) has been a Leverhulme Trust / Institutional Visiting Fellow with the Security and Justice Research Group since May 2013. Dr Hufnagel’s research interests encompass law enforcement cooperation in Asia, North America, the EU and Australasia, comparative constitutional law with a view to terrorism legislation and the policing of art crime.

This presentation concludes nine months of research on UK involvement in EU police and justice cooperation and in particular the possible benefits and downsides of a UK opt-out with regard to the Lisbon Protocol 36. Article 10(4) of this Protocol provides that the UK may, at any time up to 31 May 2014, choose not to accept the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the enforcement powers of the Commission in relation to these pre-Lisbon measures. In the event of an opt out, all former policing and criminal justice instruments adopted under the 'third pillar' that have not been amended, repealed or replaced since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty will cease to apply to the UK. The study aims at providing an overview of police and justice cooperation strategies regulated by EU legislation and in particular mechanisms developed between the UK and other EU member states that would be affected by the opt out. EU legislation in the area of police and justice cooperation has been tested with regard to its benefits for the UK by comparing the practice developed under this legislation to cooperative engagement with non-EU countries. Two particular areas covered by this presentation are the UK participation in Joint Investigation Teams (JITs) and UK ‘judicial’ cooperation through Eurojust. As it cannot be denied that such strategies enhance UK cooperation at the EU level, it will be discussed whether the opt out would put a complete stop to such engagement or whether cooperation would continue informally, without legal justification through EU legislation.

All welcome.

To confirm attendance, please register for the event.

Location Details

1.12/1.13 Liberty Building (on the western campus)

The School of Law
The Liberty Building
University of Leeds
Leeds
LS2 9JT

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